Ultimate XMen: FAMILY TIES
by Dino Pollard
Summary: Takes place after MojoVision. The XMen are back in London, but Cyclops receives a message from a figure from his past that calls him and the XMen out to Alaska. Who is Corsair? What are the Starjammers? What is the Brood? And how is Nick Fury involved in
1. Part I: Spaced Out

* * *

The Shi'ar Imperium spans several star systems and has countless planets among its ranks. Everything is controlled by D'Ken Nermani, the Shi'ar Emperor, who rules with an iron fist. Among his crew are the Imperial Guard, beings with incredible power who serve their master willingly. None stand against him.

Well… _almost_ none.

I'll tell you how I got here. My crew and I found ourselves on Hala. Once, it was the capital of the Kree Empire, which preceded the Shi'ar. The Kree Empire was a paradise, but thanks to the power of D'Ken and the savage monstrosities known as the Brood, they were quickly overrun and D'Ken took control. As a final insult, D'Ken decreed that Hala, once the Eden of the universe, would be converted into a prison planet.

It was here that dissenters were kept. The artists, the scientists, the philosophers. Anyone who dared speak out against D'Ken was captured and left here. They were used as sacrifices. The Brood are powerful, but they need host bodies. So eggs are implanted in these prisoners and when they hatch, the Brood overtakes the host, bursting forth.

The Brood are D'Ken's shock troops. An army of vicious, soulless beasts who obey his every command. That's just the kind of bastard D'Ken is. And we came to Hala to prevent D'Ken from sacrificing more people to the Brood.

Raza took care of the security. He was another example of D'Ken's sick experimentation. Raza was once part of a Shi'ar race of warriors. While the rest of his people died in battle against the Brood, Raza was captured and his life saved by cybernetic enhancements. Now he's indestructible, and has been denied the chance to die in battle. The cybernetic enhancements come in handy, however. Raza bypassed the security codes through them, allowing us to sneak in relatively easy.

We were greeted with the stench of bodily fluids and rotting corpses. D'Ken didn't care much about providing the prisoners with any sort of facilities, nor did he worry about cleaning up the dead bodies. The Brood didn't require healthy host bodies, just host bodies for the incubation period.

I'm not sure how many were in there. Possibly hundreds. How many of them were alive was another question that I couldn't answer. But I knew what I had to do. I wasn't going to let these people suffer in their squalor any longer. I had to take action and I had to find a way to get them out of here.

"Raza, contact Hepzibah and tell her to have the ship ready."

I turned to the large alien beside me while Raza followed my orders. This member of my crew was very amphibian-like in appearance, he always reminded me of the monster from _The Creature From The Black Lagoon_. Man, I loved that flick when I was a kid.

"You ready for this, Ch'od?" I asked.

"Question is, do we have enough room for them all?" he asked.

"Well big guy, we'll just have to make room." I replied. I lifted my sword in the air and called out to get the attention of the prisoners. "Listen up! From this point on, you're no longer fodder for the Brood! You've been liberated from your prison, and my crewmates and I will take you beyond the reach of D'Ken and the Shi'ar Empire! Follow us, and we'll set you free!"

"Hepzibah is bringing the ship around, Captain," said Raza.

"Good," I said.

On Earth, I was Major Christopher Summers. But here, in the far reaches of space, my name is Corsair. My crewmates and I are a group of rebels—space pirates who oppose D'Ken and the Shi'ar Empire at every turn. We call ourselves the Starjammers.

* * *

"FAMILY TIES"  
Part I: Spaced Out  
January 2006  
**by Dino Pollard**

* * *

_**London**_

In London, a Starbucks could be found on practically every single street corner. So when John Proudstar invited Ali Blaire out for a cup of coffee, they found themselves within spitting distance of one of the franchise's coffee shops.

They sat in an outdoor terrace, a small, round table separating the two of them. When the X-Men first arrived in London after departing the Savage Land, the only clothes they had were the leather combat uniforms that had been given to them when they were operating under the auspices of SHIELD. Since that time, however, they had acquired some normal attire for walking about the streets of London.

Ali sipped her drink and John watched her from across the table. He simply had a cup of plain coffee and he wasn't even sure what Ali had ordered. It sounded complicated and it was a name he couldn't even pronounce correctly. After a moment, Ali realized John was staring at her.

"Something wrong?" she asked.

"Hmm? Oh no, nothing."

She nodded, a bit unsatisfied by his response.

"So what happened there anyway?" asked John.

"You mean at MojoVision?" asked Ali.

"Yeah."

"He wanted me to be his star," said Ali. "Make a comeback to the entertainment industry as an actress instead of a musician. And he wanted to keep you guys in those mental scenarios, record them somehow and distribute them. It's a good thing Longshot came in when he did, not sure if we would have gotten out of it without his help."

"So why did you turn down Mojo?"

"Because the price was watching you guys go through torment," said Ali. "I couldn't do that."

"But what if you could?"

"Excuse me?" A confused look fell over Ali's face.

"What I mean is…" John slid his chair in closer, leaning in slightly. "What if you could go back to it? The life you had before the X-Men."

"You mean be a singer again?"

"Yeah, or do something else in entertainment. Like acting. Would you?"

Ali set her coffee down on the table and cast her eyes down towards her hands. She considered her teammate's words, and she thought back to the times when she was a pop star.

"Honestly… when I first came to the X-Men, all I thought about was getting back to my old life I hated what had become of me. I hated that I was a mutant and that I was putting my life on the line day after day…" She sighed.

"But…?"

"But now I can't see myself ever going back to that." She looked up and made eye contact with him. "After what happened to the Professor and Storm and Rogue, the Shadow King, SHIELD… Black Air, the Savage Land, and especially the Morlocks. It may not seem that way to everyone else, but I've changed a lot since that day in Chicago when I met Logan. And when Mojo offered me a way out of this life, a chance to become an actress… even before I knew you guys were in danger, I knew it wasn't the right choice. That's just not who I am anymore, y'know?"

John nodded and sipped his coffee.

"What about you?" she asked. "Would you go back?"

"In a heartbeat."

"Really?"

"I was at the top of my game," said John. "My parents were always good to me and I had a great little brother who I'd look out for. And all those scholarships? Man, I had my pick of colleges. I could've gone anywhere, done anything. But because of an accident, I had to come here. And now, I still want to leave, but I can't. What if SHIELD is still looking for us? What if there are Acolytes out there who want revenge? What if Magneto's not as braindead as Jean said he was? I mean, he snapped out of it before. And now with Logan gone, we've gotta stick together. Who knows what'll happen next?"

"Watch what you say, something bad might happen."

"With our luck, I wouldn't be surprised..." he muttered. He looked up at Ali and his dark eyes locked with her blue ones. He found himself staring into them. On instinct, he slowly began to move his head closer to hers. She met him halfway and their lips connected. They lingered for a moment before John quickly pulled away.

"Sorry..." He picked up his coffee and took a large gulp of the hot liquid. His tongue regretted it.

"It's... it's okay," she said.

"We should... let's head back."

"O...okay."

* * *

"What happened next, Major Su—"

"Corsair."

"I beg your pardon?"

"My name is Corsair."

"Okay Corsair. What happened next?"

* * *

Ch'od, Raza and I moved quickly to get the prisoners out of the installation. Hepzibah was circling above in the Starjammer. That was the name of our ship, it's where we got our name. The four of us were once prisoners of the Shi'ar slave camps, although originally, there were five of us. My wife, Katherine. D'Ken took her from us one night, and he... he raped her. He'd done this before to other female prisoners and Hepzibah had told me she was chosen to be his companion on more than one occassion.

Karen was strong-willed, though. She fought against D'Ken, but that only angered him. So he... he killed her. Then... that's when he had his way with her. He delighted in telling me the details, even filmed it and forced me to watch. His plan was to break me, but all he did was strengthen my resolve. I got together with several of the prisoners and we staged a revolt. Ch'od, Raza, Hepzibah and myself were the only survivors.

Once we escaped, we commandeered a Shi'ar cruiser and flew it to the far reaches of the system. Eventually, we were able to get our hands on the Starjammer through the black market. We didn't have much in the way of money though, so we stole it.

* * *

"Corsair, I thought you were telling us about what happened in the prison on Hala?"

"Sorry, I have a tendency to go off on tangents sometimes."

* * *

Security went off at that point, just like we expected it to. We knew it wouldn't be a simple mission, but we had to try, right? Anyway, guards came after us, guns blazing. Hepzibah had the Starjammer on auto-pilot while she laid down some cover fire with the ship's guns. Ch'od, Raza and I returned fire. I sent Ch'od off to get the prisoners onboard. Raza and I stayed behind and continued to fight off the guards. Ch'od was calling for us to get moving, but we were running short on time. I told Raza to go ahead, I would cover him.

Raza ran back to the ship, and it was at that moment that I was struck down by gunfire. My knee was hit and I collapsed. The guards swarmed over me and I was their captive. I called out to Raza, told him they had to get the Starjammer out of there. Raza was a born soldier. Although he didn't like leaving a man behind, he knew there was nothing he could do.

The hatch closed and the Starjammer took to the air with the prisoners onboard. That's when I saw it. A Shi'ar Superdestroyer. It targetted the Starjammer and... the Starjammer may be fast and it may be a good ship, but there's no way it could contend with the force of a Superdestroyer. Needless to say, the Superdestroyer lived up to its name.

I don't think I have to draw you a diagram.

* * *

_**London**_

Jean Grey sat on the floor in a large room in the Morlock tunnels. Her legs were crossed and her eyes shut in concentration. Beside her sat the Aborigine mutant called Gateway. At one point, he had been the method of transportation for Magneto and his Acolytes. When the X-Men broke free of Magneto, however, Gateway came with them and has provided them with transport since.

"What are they doing?" asked Kurt Darkholme.

"Meditation I guess," replied Scott Summers. The two young men stood outside the room and watched. "Gateway's been working with Jean in their spare time, ever since the Morlocks were killed. He's teaching her the ways of his people, or something. I tried talking to Jean about it and she said something about Dreamtime, but that's all I really understood."

"Weird," said Kurt.

"How are you feeling?" asked Scott.

"I'm still a little stiff, but other than that I'm fine," replied Kurt. "If you've got the time to spare, I definitely recommend a coma for a good rest. What about you? Can't be easy having to take over as leader right after Logan bailed."

"I can deal," said Scott.

There was a slight shiver that ran through his body whenever Logan's name was brought up. He told the X-Men that Logan left for parts unknown after their battle with the Marauders. And it was true, but the part he left out was that Scott _told _Logan to leave, because he felt the older man's methods had only made the X-Men worse for wear and the cost was lives. Scott didn't want to see anyone else die.

"Well, at least Dr. Reyes has been pretty helpful," said Kurt. "Have you been over there today?"

"Not yet, but I'm gonna head over tomorrow probably. I want to check up on Kitty."

"Yeah, it's crazy what's happened to her. I didn't even think something like that was possible."

"You mean not being able to turn off your mutant power?" asked Scott.

"Oh... sorry."

"It's okay."

* * *

"Thank you, Corsair. I think we've had enough today."

Corsair stood from his chair, his hands cuffed, and a uniformed guard stood behind him. The guard led him to the one door in the room and Corsair walked out. The guard followed to lead him back to his cell. Behind the two-way mirror sat two men. One of them had long, brown hair pulled into a ponytail and wore round glasses and searched through Corsair's file.

"Well?"

Leonard Samson looked up from his papers to his companion and smiled.

"I think you were right, sir," he said. "Major Summers is definitely insane. Clearly, he suffers from an extreme case of schizophrenia. According to his file, he was in a plane crash some years ago, correct?"

"Yeah, his wife died in it."

"Apparently, he's played out this scenario in his mind that he and his wife were abducted by aliens right before their plane crashed. I think this may have been his attempt to try to cope with her death."

"Then why does he think they were put into slavery and his wife raped and killed? Why not dream up a scenario where the two of them are happy together?"

"The subconscious is a very powerful thing, and it often works in mysterious ways," said Samson. "Summers was a soldier, perhaps he misses the thrill of combat. Perhaps his wife dying in his delusion is his subconscious trying to tell him that she's really dead, an attempt to break him out of his fantasy. His delusion has become extremely intricate, though. He believes himself to be almost an intergalactic Robin Hood, going up against an evil empire that preys upon the weak. His belief that his fellow space pirates have died in battle could mean progress for his treatment. As he strips away more and more of this delusion, he comes one step closer to reality."

"Good, because I want to know what he knows."

* * *

They're talking about me in there, I know it. They're working for D'Ken. All of this... it's all window-dressing. I know soon they'll just implant me with another Brood egg. D'Ken's trying new tactics. He's becoming more subtle. Too bad for him, I'm not going to buy into his bullshit.

I stop in my tracks and the guard takes a few steps in front of me.

"Hey, what are you—"

Before he finishes his sentence, I launch my body into his, slamming him against the wall. He tries to get up, but I headbutt him and he goes down for the count. I reach down and grab at his keychain so I can unlock the handcuffs. I pull him into the janitor's closet and pull his clothes off.

This is my chance to get out of here. I have to take it. I'm not going to let you fuck me over again, D'Ken. This time, I'm going to put an end to you and your Brood factory. The Shi'ar Empire will fall. It's a fitting revenge, you bastard. For Katherine. For the Starjammers.

You just fucked with the corsair, asshole.

* * *

Doctor Samson rushed into the temporary office set up for his visitor. The tall, black man sat behind a desk, his laptop open and he was busy with that.

"Don't you knock, Samson?"

"I'm sorry, but this is important. It's about Summers."

The man looked up from his laptop.

"What is it?" he asked.

"He escaped."

The man slammed the laptop shut and stood.

"He _what_?"

"I said he's escaped, Colonel," replied Samson. "He took out the guard escorting him back to his room and he escaped. We've searched the entire hospital and we can't find him anywhere."

"Sonnuva bitch... okay, don't worry. I think I know how we can get him back. Keep me posted if you hear anything else, Samson."

Samson nodded and left the room, closing the door behind him. The man sat back down and opened his laptop. He struck a command on the keyboard.

Voice authorization required.

"Fury, Nicholas," he said.

Access granted.

* * *


	2. Part II: Reunion

* * *

**_London_**

"Dammit!"

The large, blue-furred fist that slammed into the wall belonged to the young mutant named Hank McCoy. He breathed heavily in frustration and removed his glasses to rub his eyes. The sound drew the owner of the small clinic into the room. A Puerto Rican woman named Dr. Cecilia Reyes.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"I can't figure it out," replied Hank. "Ever since I was able to, I've been reviewing what little information we've been able to gain from Kitty's current condition, trying to find a way to reverse it. But I keep coming up short."

"No one expect you to find an answer," said Cecilia. "I've been working myself, but it's not easy when the patient isn't even solid. Besides, you're just a high school graduate. You're not an expect in genetics."

"It's been a passion of mine for years, though. It's what I was going to explore in college. I wanted to make a career out of it. I've read countless papers, studied the field in great depth in my spare time. But I can't seem to wrap my head around this."

"Look Hank, the sad truth is neither of us is an expert in genetics," said Cecilia. "And because of that, neither of us knows what's really happening to Kitty. We can only hazard a guess at best."

"Why didn't she experience this 'secondary mutation' thing that I did?" asked Hank. "Why haven't her powers kicked in to save her?"

"I don't know," replied Cecilia. "I wish I had an answer for you, but I don't."

"An answer for what?"

Cecilia and Hank recognized the voice as the one that belonged to Scott Summers, the X-Men's de facto leader since Wolverine's disappearance. He stood in the doorway, red sunglasses concealing his eyes. By his side was Kurt Darkholme, whose bright yellow eyes were a sharp contrast to his jet-black skin.

"Nothing," said Cecilia. "We've just been working on Kitty's… condition."

"Any progress?" asked Kurt. Cecilia shook her head and he sighed.

"There is something else, though." Cecilia moved towards the desk and shuffled through some papers.

"Oh?" asked Scott.

Cecilia took a small envelope from the desk and handed it to him. Scott looked at it in surprise to see that it was addressed to him. He tore it open and pulled the letter out.

"I found it with the mail today," she said. "Obviously, someone knows you're here."

"Maybe it's from Logan?" asked Kurt.

"Or Xavier," said Hank. "After all, Jean said there was a possibility that his mind is still out there. Maybe he found a new body."

"None of the above…" said Scott.

"Then who's it from and how did they know to reach you through me?" asked Cecilia.

"I don't know how he knew where to find us, but it's from my brother," replied Scott. "Looks like he escaped from Avalon before SHIELD arrived."

Hank took the letter from Scott and scanned over it quickly. "I don't like the looks of this."

"What's it say?" asked Kurt.

"He wants Scott to meet him at their grandparents' cabin," replied Hank.

"Then that's what I'll do," said Scott.

"It might be a trap," said Hank. "If Alex got away from Avalon, maybe the other Acolytes did, too. Maybe they want revenge on us for what we did to Magneto. They could be trying to split us up. Divide and conquer."

"Don't worry, I can handle it," said Scott.

"Remember what happened the _last_ time you responded to a call from your brother?" asked Hank.

Scott paused. He _did_ remember and his mind flashed back to the encounter with the mad geneticist who called himself Sinister. A shiver went down his spine.

"Fine," he said. "We'll all go."

* * *

"FAMILY TIES"  
Part II: Reunion  
March 2006  
**by Dino Pollard**

* * *

This was _not_ what Jean Grey was used to. She had gone to one of London's nightclubs, intending on simply having a few drinks and enjoying the atmosphere. What she hadn't counted on was striking up a conversation with a beautiful, young brunette woman who had offered to buy her a drink.

One drink had turned into three or four and the next thing Jean knew, she was pressed up against the wall of a motel room while the mysterious stranger's lips locked against hers. The stranger's hands wandered all over, exploring every area of Jean's body. She began to strip the young redhead of her clothes and pushed her down to the bed.

The brunette stripped for Jean, swaying slightly to nonexistent music. She leapt on the bed and her lips devoured Jean's in a ferocious kiss. Her mouth began to explore Jean's neck, moving down towards her bare chest and then further south.

The young telepath moaned in pleasure as her companion continued. She closed her eyes and threw her head back, crying out for more. Her body felt like it was on fire, desire bubbling to the surface and overcoming her in a wash of pure ecstasy. When she opened her eyes, she found that the heat wasn't just her passion—she was surrounded on all sides by flames.

Cloaked figures surrounded her and Jean lay there on cold marble, completely naked. Their faces were all hidden from her. She could see symbols all around her on the marble floor. What looked to be pictographs. While she couldn't recognize them, there was one that stood out in her mind.

It was a bird made out of flames.

* * *

Jean cried out and her eyes snapped open. She looked around and found she was back inside the Morlock Tunnels. The Aborigine mutant known as Gateway stood in the doorway and watched her with curiosity.

"Everything okay?" he asked.

"Yeah…" replied Jean. "Just… just had a pretty intense dream, that's all."

"I thought you were meditating."

"I was. I guess I fell asleep."

"Cyclops wanted me to find you," said Gateway. "It looks like you're off on another adventure."

* * *

**_Anchorage, Alaska_**

Christopher Summers entered the small gun store and began exploring. The man behind the counter eyed him suspiciously, taking note of the hospital scrubs he wore.

"You a doctor or something?" he asked.

"Or something," replied Summers.

"What can I help you with?"

Summers approached the counter then knelt before it. His eyes passed across the handguns enclosed inside. He placed his hands on the glass, then slowly slid them across it. The clerk simply cocked an eyebrow and watched with rapt attention.

"You alright, buddy?"

"Perfect."

Summers stood and pointed at a gun in the case. "I want that one."

The clerk opened the case and removed the gun. He passed it to Summers, who examined it.

"That's a .44 Magnum," he said. "Good weapon."

"No, it's primitive," said Summers. "But it'll have to do."

He grabbed the pistol by the barrel and slammed the hilt against the clerk's face. The clerk fell back and Corsair leapt over the counter. He proceeded to beat the clerk unconscious, then collected the appropriate ammunition as well as a second gun.

* * *

Colonel Nick Fury walked through the halls of the Alaska Psychiatric Institute. A few SHIELD agents flanked him. He held a cell phone against his ear.

"I don't care what the mayor says, I want roadblocks set up. If he keeps giving you shit about it, arrest him on charges of obstructing a federal investigation. No we don't need to tell him anything more than that. Alright good, get it done."

He turned off the phone and slid it into a pocket on his belt. Doctor Leonard Samson came running behind Fury and his entourage.

"Colonel Fury!"

"I want a complete account of everything Summers was involved with," said Fury to one of the agents who flanked him. "Full disclosure, you got me?"

"Colonel Fury!" exclaimed Samson.

"Also, get me his medical records. I want to know what he's been saying to these doctors during the years he's been here."

"Colonel Fury!"

"What do you want, Samson?" Fury stopped and he and his entourage faced the psychiatrist.

"Colonel, I'd like to know just what is going on here," said Samson. "Why is SHIELD so interested in Christopher Summers anyway?"

"That's classified, Doctor," said Fury. "I want you to locate all the files pertaining to Summers and then I want you to turn them over to Agent Pierce here. Is that understood?"

"I'm sorry Colonel, but no," said Samson. Fury stepped forward and glared at Samson with his one good eye.

"You mind repeating that?"

"Those files are classified," replied Samson. "Doctor/patient confidentiality. You have no right to look through them. And I won't give you any right to look through them unless you tell me what this is all about."

Fury reached into his pocket and pulled out a cigar and a Zippo lighter.

"You can't smoke in he—"

Fury lit the cigar and puffed on it, blowing the smoke in Samson's direction.

"Now you listen and you listen good, Samson. I've got a job to do. Summers has been under SHIELD supervision ever since he first came here. Hell, we were the ones who put him in here to begin with. The man has information in his head—dangerous information—that could be a vital threat to national security."

"Colonel, he thinks he's a space pirate," said Samson. "The man has completely disassociated himself from reality."

"That's your opinion, Doctor," said Fury. "Personally, I think he knows more than he's telling. And under the provisions of Homeland Security, SHIELD is authorized to view whatever records we wish if they pertain to matters of national security. Which this does. So turn over the documents or I'll have your ass on the next plane to Guantanamo. Do we understand each other?"

"Yes… yes we do," said Samson.

"Good," said Fury. "Now pretty please, give me those fucking files."

* * *

A portal opened before the small cabin in Anchorage. It was this cabin where Scott spent his formative years. He was the first out of the portal, with the rest of the X-Men following close behind. With the exception of Nightcrawler and Colossus, the X-Men had been here once before. It felt like a lifetime ago when they came here and battled Sinister.

"Alex!" Cyclops called out. His eyes scanned the area from behind the ruby-quartz visor that held back his optic blasts. "Alex!"

No answer came forth. Cyclops sighed and looked at Phoenix. She nodded and closed her eyes.

"I don't sense him here at all," she said.

"That's not possible," said Cyclops. "He said he would be here."

"Well, we _did _teleport," said Dazzler. "Maybe he's just not here yet?"

"No... there's something else here," said Phoenix.

Corsair leapt from his hiding spot to the side of the house. He brought both handguns up and started firing. Phoenix instantly brought up a telekinetic shield to block the bullets.

"You... how'd you do that?" he asked. "You must be with the Imperial Guard."

"The _what_?" asked Colossus.

"D'Ken sent you, didn't he?" asked Corsair.

"Look, I don't know who you are but you've got about ten seconds to explain why you're skulking around my grandparents' cabin," said Cyclops.

"Grandparents?" asked Corsair. "You're crazy."

"Well one of us is..." muttered Thunderbird.

"This is my parents' cabin," said Corsair. "I escaped from the Shi'ar slave pens and I came here. They've come to Earth, don't you see? My homeworld. They've come here to destroy the planet. To turn it into a breeding ground for the Brood. Like they did to Hala."

"Does anyone here speak psycho, because I have no idea what he's saying," said Thunderbird.

"This is getting ridiculous," said Cyclops.

Two well-placed optic blasts quickly disarmed Corsair of his weapons. Nightcrawler teleported behind the man and quickly restrained him. Corsair flipped Nightcrawler over, freeing him of the mutant. Thunderbird moved with superhuman speed and drove his fist into Corsair's jaw. With Corsair down, Thunderbird pinned him to the ground.

"Don't move," he said.

"Stop," said Phoenix. "Scott, do you recognize this man?"

"What?" asked Cyclops. "Of course not. Why?"

"Because I've just scanned his mind," replied Phoenix. "He thinks he's Corsair, a man who was abducted by aliens. Now, he believes he's the sole survivor of a group of space pirates called the Starjammers."

"So he's crazy," said Thunderbird. "I could've told you that."

"That's not all," said Phoenix. "Scott, this man's real name is Christopher Summers."

The X-Men collectively looked at Phoenix in shock.

"Could you... say that again?" asked Cyclops.

"He's your father, Scott."

* * *

"Status report, Agent Carter," said Fury.

We've located Major Summers. He's just encountered the X-Men. Do you want us to engage?

"Not yet," said Fury. "Let's see how this all plays out."

* * *


	3. Part III: Exterminate Rational Thougt

* * *

**_Anchorage, Alaska_**

Ever since he was a child, Scott Summers has believed that his parents were killed in a plane crash. He and his younger brother Alex were raised by their grandparents. Over the years, Scott had made peace with the fact that he would never get to know what kind of a man his father was.

Scott Summers just discovered that what he thought he knew about his father was a lie.

He received a letter from his brother, telling him to come to their grandparents' home in Anchorage. His teammates, the X-Men, accompanied him as well. It was here that he discovered his father was alive and well.

"Let him up, John," said Cyclops. Thunderbird released Christopher and allowed him to stand. He looked to Cyclops, who followed up with, "go inside, check on my grandparents."

"You sure you don't need me here?" asked Thunderbird.

"No," said Cyclops. Thunderbird nodded and went towards the house. Cyclops looked at the source of this newfound revelation. "You're wrong."

"Scott, as hard as it may be to believe, this man is Christopher Summers." The redhead who spoke to him was Jean Grey, also called Phoenix. The team's resident telepath and a young woman in possession of more power than possibly even she is aware of.

"How did you know my former name?" asked Christopher. "I haven't gone by that name since I broke free from the Shi'ar slave pens. I'm known throughout the galaxy as Corsair."

"My father wasn't crazy," said Cyclops. He focused his visor-clad eyes on Corsair and slowly approached him. "Whoever this man is, he's an imposter."

"Why father? Whose father?" asked Corsair. He squinted and focused in on Scott. "You're not my son. My son is dead. You're a Skrull, aren't you? Changing your shape so you can confuse me! I've heard about you Skrulls before, how you can make yourself look like anyone you want. That's what you're doing, isn't it? You're in league with D'Ken and the Brood, aren't you?"

"I didn't realize Scott had such a messed up family," said Dazzler in a low voice.

"That's not so bad," said Nightcrawler. "Remind me later to tell you what it was like having Mystique for a mother."

"Let's… just try to approach this rationally, shall we?" said Beast.

"I know you don't want to believe it, but this man is Christopher Summers, or at least he believes he is," said Phoenix, her eyes locked on Cyclops' face. "Which means if he's not, then he's undergone some impressive mental conditioning, to the point that I can't detect any anomalies."

"The plane crashed, their bodies were found, they were buried," said Cyclops.

"Then obviously, there's more to this than we understand," said Beast. "Wouldn't be the first time we've had the wool pulled over our eyes."

"Bullshit," said Cyclops. "This was before Xavier, before SHIELD, before the X-Men. It's got absolutely nothing to do with them."

"Scott!"

Thunderbird ran from the cabin. His face told Cyclops everything he needed to know—something was wrong. Extremely wrong.

"What?" he asked. "Where are my grandparents?"

"Gone," said Thunderbird. "I found this." He held a slip of paper in his hand that he passed over to Cyclops. "The place is a disaster area. There was definitely a fight."

Cyclops' eyes passed over the note and his lips curled into a distinct snarl as he read the words hastily written. He crumpled the note and let it fall to the ground. He spoke one word and one word only.

"Sinister."

"No, can't be, he's dead," said Dazzler.

"As far as we know, maybe he found a way out of it," said Beast. "It's definitely a possibility."

"This is a plot by D'Ken," said Corsair. "First he transports me to Earth and puts me in a mental hospital. Then he hires this Skrull to imitate my son. Now he's kidnapped my parents. I thought he would have had his fill after he killed my wife and crew. But he'll never be satisfied, will he?"

"Just what the hell is he babbling on about?" asked Thunderbird.

"My name is Corsair, I was the leader of the Starjammers, a group of intergalactic pirates," he replied. "We fought against the Shi'ar Imperium and their corrupt leader, D'Ken."

"How did you get there?" asked Beast.

"When I was last on Earth, it was when I was flying with my family. The plane was going to crash and we only had one parachute left. My wife strapped it on our two boys and pushed them out. Right before the plane crashed, we were abducted by a Shi'ar spacecraft and sent to the slave pens. D'Ken raped and murdered my wife. With the help of some inmates, we escaped and formed the Starjammers to fight back."

"I see," said Beast. _"What do you think, Jean?"_

_"He's telling the truth, or at least he believes he is. But obviously, he's had some sort of mental breakdown. Still, I think there is some element of truth in his fantasy."_

_"This is all tied together, isn't it?"_

_"I'd say that's a fair assumption. Scott? Do you read me?"_

_"Yes."_

_"For now, we'll have to trust him, take him with us. This can't just be coincidence; this is all tied together somehow. What did the note say?"_

_"That he has my grandparents and my brother and if I don't show up at this address, he'll kill all three of them."_

_"In that case, we now have a destination in mind. Do your job, Mr. Leader."_

* * *

"FAMILY TIES"  
Part III: Exterminate All Rational Thought  
March 2006  
**by Dino Pollard**

* * *

_**London, England**_

A young woman with long, blonde hair sat in an antique chair before a roaring fire. She wore a short white skirt and a white blouse. The room was large and lined with bookshelves. One such book was held between her hands and a glass of red wine sat on the small table beside her chair. Her delicate fingers turned the pages carefully, the fire providing the only light for her.

The doors opened and she heard footsteps on the wooden floor. A man with black hair and sideburns and dressed in a fine suit stopped beside the chair and stared into the flames. She allowed herself a small smile—she knew who her guest was before he even set foot into the room.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" he asked.

"Mmm," she said. 

"The fire is a cleansing agent. It purifies all, restores balance to the universe. That is what the goal of our organization has been for centuries."

"Patience, Sebastian," she said. "It's a virtue."

"That is one word, my dear Emma, I would never associate with either of us," said Sebastian.

Emma turned away from her book, her crystal-blue eyes gazing into his dark ones and a coy smile spread across her face. "I have no idea what you are referring to."

Sebastian simply changed the subject. "I'm concerned about the proceedings."

"Like I said, patience."

"She isn't her father."

"No, but her father is dead," said Emma. "She'll do just fine, I promise."

"She had better," said Sebastian. "This is far too important. A window like this only comes once every five-hundred years."

Emma set the book down on the table beside the wine glass and stood. She gently placed her hand on Sebastian's cheek. He took her hand in his own and lightly kissed it.

"You need to learn to relax," she said. She took her hand away from his grip and placed both palms on his shoulders, slowly running them up and down his torso. Her eyes turned up towards his and she grinned seductively. Sebastian smiled back at her.

"I suppose you can help me relieve that… tension, Miss Frost?"

Emma pulled away from him and picked up the wine glass. She sipped it as she sauntered towards the doors, but not before turning a final glance back at Sebastian.

"Some other time, perhaps."

* * *

_**Anchorage, Alaska**_

The X-Men, accompanied by Corsair, found themselves in a large, abandoned factory of some sort. Getting inside had proved to be no challenge for the armored strength of Colossus.

"What is this place?" asked Nightcrawler.

"It used to be a prison," said Cyclops. "They shut it down a long time ago, though. I think before I was born, actually."

Corsair moved forward, a Magnum in each hand. He crouched low and looked around carefully, as if he were looking for someone.

"What are you doing?" asked Cyclops.

"The Brood are here…" said Corsair.

"…right," said Thunderbird.

"Jean, you reading anything?" asked Cyclops.

"I'm doing a telepathic scan of the area and… huh, that's weird," she said.

"What's weird?" asked Beast.

"Well, I'm picking up different thought patterns, but I can't seem to decipher them," said Phoenix. "It's almost like I'm trying to read the mind of an animal or something."

"You mean you can't do that?" asked Nightcrawler.

"Well I can, but their thought patterns are so different that it's like trying to read a book in a foreign language," said Phoenix. 

"And that's what this is like?" asked Nightcrawler.

"More or less."

"What's that mean, 'more or less'?" asked Thunderbird.

"It means… more or less," said Phoenix.

"These are the types of environments where the Brood eggs thrive," said Corsair. "Dank, dark. They hate the light."

"Whatever you say, 'Corsair,'" said Cyclops.

"Why don't you believe me?" asked Corsair. "It may be difficult to believe, but this is how the universe really works. I once thought there was nothing past this planet, but then I discovered I was wrong. Will you be able to live with yourself when you make that discovery for yourself?"

"Look, let's just get to the bottom of this," said Cyclops. "Find Sinister and find out what the hell kind of game he's trying to play."

"And how he survived getting vaporized," said Dazzler. "Because I know I'm not the only one who saw that, right? How do people just come back from something like that?"

"Good question," said Cyclops. "How do they come back after they died in a plane crash and were buried for that matter?"

"I told you, I was never in that crash!" said Corsair. "It was a trick! The Shi'ar must have replaced our bodies somehow, or maybe it was an illusion—I don't know. Either way, it was a trick and you fell for it."

"Neither of you are helping," said Beast. He shook his head as they continued to explore the abandoned prison. "This is a wild goose chase, that's what it is. For all we know, it may not even be Sinister who's behind this. Just a trick to lure us in."

"Seems to be working so far," said Colossus.

"Wait, I'm picking something up," said Phoenix. She hovered in the air, an aura of flames appearing around her body. Her eyes glowed brightly and with a gesture, a barricaded door opened and the debris cleared. Inside the small room was a man coughing violently.

Beast ran to his aid first and tried to lift him up. "It's okay, we're here to help."

"No…" said the man. "You're idiots, you shouldn't have come here."

"What are you talking about?" asked Beast. "What's here?"

"SHIcoughAR."

"Shi'ar?" asked Beast. "Did you just say Shi'ar?"

"Hank, don't make him speak," said Phoenix. She lowered herself to the ground and knelt beside the man. He opened his mouth but she shushed him and placed her hand on his forehead. She closed her eyes and his memories flashed across her mind. When she opened them once more, they were in a state of shock.

"What is it?" asked Beast.

"Corsair was telling the truth," said Phoenix. "Or some form of the truth, anyway. Shi'ar is an acronym for Super-Human Infantry Attack Respondent. A black ops program run by… guess who?"

"SHIELD," said Cyclops.

Phoenix nodded. "This man was one of the scientists working on Project: SHIAR. At first, it was an attempt to recreate the Super Soldier Serum that gave birth to Captain America. They wanted a new era of super soldiers. But something else happened. Somehow, they created a new type of organism. One that grows inside the host body and bursts free when it comes to term."

"Like the Alien movies?" asked Nightcrawler.

"Exactly," replied Phoenix. "The new organisms were armored, bug-like creatures who took on the characteristics of their host. The first one became the Queen and they operate on a hive-like structure. SHIELD still operated under the belief that these things could be controlled, used in mobile infantry, but they broke free and either killed or impregnated everyone in this base."

She looked at Corsair.

"They nicknamed these creatures the Brood."

"I told you I was telling the truth," said Corsair.

"These events were the basis of Corsair's delusions," said Phoenix.

"But how is he involved in it?" asked Cyclops. "What does any of this have to do with my family?"

"That I don't know," said Phoenix. "But these creatures are now roaming around this place, and they're bloodthirsty."

"Then shouldn't we leave?" asked Nightcrawler.

"No one's going anywhere," said Cyclops. "We have to stop these things now because if they get out, who knows what will happen?"

"Question is, how do we find them?" asked Thunderbird.

The sound of insect-like wings flapping drew the X-Men's attention. They all crowded together as the Brood slowly emerged from various hiding places. They had six legs and tentacles, combined with large fangs and glowing, yellow eyes. Dazzler glared at Thunderbird.

"You just had to ask, didn't you?"

* * *


	4. Part IV: Killer Queen

* * *

Colonel Nick Fury sat in the corner booth of a small bar in Anchorage. He held a glass filled with Jameson on the rocks in his hand that he sipped. A young man with short black hair entered and walked over to him. He slid on the other side of the booth.

"Pierce," said Fury. "What are you drinking?"

"No thank you, I'm fine," said Pierce. He pulled a cigarette from his pocket and offered the pack to Fury. The Director of SHIELD shook his head and Pierce returned the pack to his jacket. He lit it as Fury began to speak.

"What've you got for me, Pierce?"

"I reviewed Samson's files like you asked," said Pierce. "And it looks as if your theory was correct."

"Summers knows something, then," said Fury.

"Indeed he does, but I don't think he realizes what he knows," said Pierce. "Do you know what the name of the galactic space empire in his fantasy is?"

"No, don't think so," said Fury.

"Shi'ar," said Pierce. "As in Project: SHIAR. I think the trauma from the plane crashed caused him to have a complete and total mental breakdown, and he used the events from before the crash in the formation of this new reality."

"This is such a clusterfuck…" Fury shook his head and sipped his drink.

"What do you suggest, sir?"

"The X-Men are already involved, right?" asked Fury.

"According to Agent Carter's last report, yes."

"Then let's see how they handle this. Right now, they're our best bet for getting through this shit with a minimum of fuss."

"What if they can't stand up to the SHIAR?"

"The X-Men are expendable, Pierce," said Fury. "Always have been, even when they were working for us. If they're killed by these things, then I'd say that's karma after they up and left us for Magneto. That Statue of Liberty debacle was a public relations nightmare for mutants. So far, things have died down somewhat, but it's not gonna last. Sooner or later, something's gonna happen that'll light a fire under all our butts. And when that time comes, we're all fucked."

* * *

"FAMILY TIES"  
Part IV: Killer Queen  
April 2006  
**by Dino Pollard**

* * *

The plate of ruby-quartz slid up, giving way to the crimson-colored concussive energy held behind it. The blast struck one of the insectoid creatures and it screeched in pain as it flew back. The lens slid back into place and the optic blasts of Cyclops were once again held at bay thanks to the visor he wore.

He and his fellow teammates in the X-Men were lured to Alaska by a fake letter claiming to be from Cyclops' younger brother, who has been missing for some time. Instead of finding Scott's brother, they found his father, Christopher Summers—whom he believed to be dead. Summers had suffered a mental breakdown and believed himself to be Corsair, an intergalactic space pirate fighting against the Shi'ar Empire and their Brood army. In reality, the Brood was the nickname given to the creatures created through Project: SHIAR, a black ops program launched under the direction of SHIELD. The intent was to create living weapons.

As the X-Men had just discovered, the project was a success. Too successful, in fact. The creatures were vicious killing machines, even destroying their creators. Now, they roamed free in this research complex and the X-Men and Corsair were the only ones that stood between them and the outside world.

One of the Brood creatures tried to sneak up behind Cyclops. He turned his head at the last second and fired a full-force optic blast at close range. The beam punched a hole through the creature. He turned and fired off a flurry of optic blasts in quick succession at the creatures that surrounded him.

His teammates did their best to pull their own weight and retain the upper hand. For the most part, they were succeeding—albeit barely. Nightcrawler teleported out of the path of a Brood's pointed, scorpion-like tail. The sharp claw at the end of its tail struck the ground where the X-Man had been a moment before. Kurt rematerialized on the creature's back and gripped its head in his hands. He took a deep breath and then vanished in a flash of light and smoke, taking the Brood's head with him. The creature's body writhed with its last bit of life before falling to the ground. Nightcrawler rematerialized and tossed the head away, his hands covered in blood.

The bright finish of Colossus' steel fists were tarnished and tainted red with the creature's blood. His blows were the most effective against them, and his strength was powerful enough to break through their tough shells with minimal effert. He grabbed one Brood creature and tore it in half, cracking it open as if it were a lobster. Its blood flew freely, bathing the Russian mutant in it.

The Beast and Thunderbird were holding their own as well, however, although their strength was impressive, it was nowhere near as great as Colossus'. The two mutants refused to relent, however. They were two of the X-Men's seasoned veterans, and they proved it through their teamwork and skill. Thunderbird moved with superhuman speed to dodge the Brood's tail strikes. He grabbed one by its tentacles and spun it around, hurling it into the path of Cyclops' optic blasts.

The Beast, after being struck by a Brood's massive tentacle, somersaulted in the air and bounced off the wal, ricocheting back towards the creature. He curled into a ball and slammed into the creature's head, forcing all his body weight against it. He leapt in the air and slammed down on the creature's head multiple times, balling his prehensile feet into fists.

Cyclops allowed himself a brief glance at the Dazzler, who also held her own. He was slightly amazed at how far the former pop idol had come in her combat skills. She was extremely efficient with her powers. She soaked up the sound of the creatures in the area and used it to fuel the concentrated blasts of light she fired from her fingertips. She absorbed more sound, building it up and channeling it into orbs of light that grew larger in her palms. When she felt she could take no more, she hurled them to the ground and they exploded, incinerating the Brood caught in the blast radius.

The one teammate Cyclops knew he had no reason to worry about was Phoenix, who had become the unofficial deputy leader of the team. There was a strong bond of friendship between him and Jean Grey, one he couldn't explain. He sometimes worried about her, as her recent displays of power frightened him and the cryptic way she sometimes spoke put him on edge. He tried to convince himself it was just nerves, but there was something else. He watched as she surrounded herself with a fiery aura, and waves of that flaming energy washed over the Brood. They roared in pain as the psionic flames seared the flesh from their insectoid bodies.

Corsair himself seemed to be holding his own remarkably well. He moved quickly and he was very spry for a man his age. Bullets wouldn't seem to do any harm to these creatures, yet Corsair seemed to know the chinks in their armor and exploited them. He didn't keep himself at a distance, he jumped right in there and straddled the creatures when he fired at them, saving his ammo for definitive kill shots.

The X-Men successfully cleared a way, eliminating what seemed to be all the creatures in the immediate area. They regrouped and took a moment to catch their bearings as well as their breath. They were fighting for about half an hour and they were exhausted and hungry. Cyclops removed his visor carefully, keeping his eyes closed the entire time, and wiped the sweat that had accumulated on his face as well as the sweat inside the device. He replaced it and looked at his teammates.

"That looks like all of them," he said.

Phoenix shook her head. Strangely, she showed no signs of exhaustion whatsoever. Not a drop of sweat was present anywhere on her body, nor was she even close to being short of breath. Like many things about her, Cyclops found it unnerving.

"There's more," she said. "I'm picking up more thought patterns."

"_More_?" asked Thunderbird, almost on the verge of panting. "SHIELD's obviously been busy."

"No, it's the queen," said Corsair. "She's here somewhere and she's the source."

"So kill the queen and stop the Brood," said Beast. "Sounds simple enough."

"Right, how often are things simple for us?" asked Nightcrawler.

"You're a morale booster," said Dazzler.

"There are eight of us, so we could cover more ground if we split up," said Cyclops. "Beast, Dazzler and Nightcrawler are with me. Thunderbird, Colossus and... Corsair... will stay with Phoenix. Keep in touch the entire time through our psychic link. We have to find this thing and kill it before it creates more of those little bastards."

* * *

After he sent Pierce back to the hospital, Fury remained in the bar and ordered food from the kitchen. The burger wasn't up to his usual standards, it was well-done when he asked for medium-rare and the fries were soggy and cold by the time they got the plate out to him. He felt slightly cheated, but at least the quality of the liquor was good. He was on his second Jameson that he sipped when the cell phone he left beside his plate began to vibrate. He flipped it open and pressed it to his ear.

"Fury."

_ Sir, it's Pierce. I was reviewing some of the routine bloodwork done on Summers and it looks like we've got a problem. _

"What's that?" asked Fury.

_ I'm uploading the file to your PDA right now. _

Fury reached inside his jacket pocket and pulled out a handheld computer. He turned it on and the message on the screen notified him of the new files. He opened them and once he read over the results, his eye suddenly grew wide in shock.

"Pierce... does this mean what I think it means?"

_ I'm afraid it does, sir. _

"Shit," said Fury. He picked up the Jameson and downed what was left in the glass and slammed it on the table. He reached into his wallet and threw a $20 bill down beside the uneaten food and ran towards the exit.

* * *

"...and now we have to clean up SHIELD's mess," said Nightcrawler. "I'm beginning to think the biggest mistake I ever made was getting mixed up in this whole life."

"You're not the only one," said Dazzler. "I'm starting to wish I turned down Xavier's offer when he came to me."

"We've all been there," said Cyclops. The Beast looked at him.

"What _I _wonder is whether or not you were recruited because of your father's involvement in this whole mess," he said.

"That's what I've been asking myself since we found out what this whole SHIAR project was all about," said Cyclops. "It can't just be a coincidence, can it? I mean, Xavier and Logan told us that we were all located with that Cerebro machine. But maybe SHIELD already had this team mapped out before Xavier?"

"Do you really think he's your father?" asked Nightcrawler.

"I don't want him to be," said Cyclops. "From what I remember of my father, he was a good man, a strong man. This Corsair... he's nothing more than a shadow of Chris Summers. I hate seeing him like this, completely broken, no concept of reality. I'm tempted to just put him out of his misery."

"Maybe his mind can be fixed," said Dazzlert. "After all, Jean seems able to do some pretty amazing things these days."

"Let's... not talk about Jean's powers," said Cyclops. "I'm still not comfortable with what she's able to do. The way she was able to defeat Magneto... it was scary."

"She certainly seems to be our resident deus ex machina these days," said the Beast. "There's definitely something wrong with her, though. Granted, I don't know much about how mutant powers develop, but such a rapid increase in power in such a short amount of time seems impossible."

"What are you saying?" asked Nightcrawler.

"Nothing," said Cyclops. "No one's saying anything, understa—"

Cyclops' sentence doesn't pass his lips before the X-Men all hear Jean's voice inside their heads through the psionic link she established with the entire team.

_"We've got trouble. **Big** trouble."_

"Speak of the devil..." said Nightcrawler. His teammates looked at him curiously. "...figuratively speaking, of course."

* * *

In another area of the complex, the team composed of Phoenix, Colossus, Thunderbird and Corsair discovered their chosen prey. The Brood Queen herself. She was covered in the same armor as the Brood warriors the X-Men fought earlier, but extending from her pelvis was a strange, filmy tube that spread out all along the room. Protruding out of several spots were growths, growths which held large eggs upright. The Queen herself was extremely large, easily larger than her minions. The X-Men stood in stunned silence when a bright flash of light signaled the arrival of their teammates. Once they laid their eyes on the Brood Queen, they too, underwent the same sense of shock.

"Oh my stars and fucking garters..." said the Beast.

"...that can't be it, can it?" asked Nightcrawler. "That's... that's one massive queen."

"Quiet," said the Beast. "It doesn't seem to have noticed us yet, so we should try to think about this carefully. It looks like she's forced into that stationary position, but if we attack her too soon, she might—"

"DIE, YOU ALIEN SCUM!" said Corsair, leaping forward and firing both his magnums at the large creature. The Queen's massive yellow eyes suddenly snapped open once the bullets struck its hide. The Queen roared in anger and smacked the former pilot to the side with one of her massive tentacles.

"—retaliate," said the Beast, finishing his sentence.

"Oh hell..." said Thunderbird.

"What are you waiting for? Attack!" said Cyclops. He opened his visor all the way, allowing the crimson energy to pour out in a torrent at the Queen. "Phoenix, Dazzler, Colossus, go for the Queen! Nightcrawler, Beast, Thunderbird, start destroying the eggs!"

"What about Corsair?" asked Thunderbird.

"Forget him, we've got other things to worry about!" said Cyclops.

The X-Men wasted no time following their leader's command. Phoenix and Dazzler unleashed their powers on the Queen, with Dazzler's light bursts striking its physical body and the flames of the Phoenix inflicting psionic damage on the Brood's mind. Colossus rushed at the creature and it slammed one of its tentacles into him. He gripped the tentacle and found his footing on the ground, then pulled hard, tearing it free from its socket. The Queen roared in pain. But worse than that was Nightcrawler, Beast and Thunderbird destroying its eggs, the Brood children it had created to replace the ones who died in combat.

"Jean, how about a boost?" asked Cyclops. Phoenix could sense his thoughts and she followed his order. Using her telekinetic powers, the Phoenix threw Cyclops onto the Queen's back. Remembering how Corsair knew of a weak spot where the Brood's necks met their heads, he stared down at the Queen's neck. He removed his visor and opened his eyes, unleashing the full brunt force of his optic blast. The Queen screeched n pain as its head was severed from the rest of its body.

Phoenix and Dazzler worked on destroying the remains of the eggs with their powers, until the X-Men and Corsair were the only living creatures left in the room. Cyclops replaced his visor, but Phoenix's eyes were wide with shock.

"What is it?" he asked.

"There's still an alien thought pattern," she said. She looked at Corsair and the X-Men's gaze followed. "It's coming from inside him."

"...that's not possible," said Corsair. He brandished both his magnums, prepared to fire them at a moment's notice as he slowly baked away. "You're in league with D'Ken!"

"Nobody move," said Cyclops, lifting his hand up to hold his teammates at bay.

"Lies, all of it!" said Corsair. He fired off a few rounds, which were quickly deflected by a psionic shield formed by Phoenix. When he saw his weapons were ineffective, he dropped them and ran down a corridor.

"Stay here, make sure none of those things are left!" said Cyclops as he broke into a run after his father. Once again, Scott was amazed at how quickly the man could move and he wondered if that had something to do with the Brood inside him. Cyclops watched as Corsair turned a corner. Before he reached the same corner...

**BANG**

Cyclops pumped his legs harder and turned the corner as well. He saw his father lying on the ground. Corsair's skin had started to blister over and his eyes were a different color. His teeth were also sharp, far too sharp for a human's. Standing over the dead man was Colonel Nick Fury, smoking gun in hand. Fury quickly brought his gun and aimed it at Cyclops.

"Don't even think about it, Summers," he said. "I could shoot you between the eyes before your hand gets anywhere near that damn visor."

"You..." said Cyclops. "This is all your fault!"

"Don't be ridiculous," said Fury.

"No use trying to bullshit me, Fury. I _know _SHIAR was a SHIELD black ops program."

"You're half right," said Fury. "It was a Weapon X program. One of Wraith's pet projects. Stuff I had no access to. It was only after his death that we've started to clean up the messes that bastard made."

Cyclops looked down at Corsair. "Was he my father?"

"Yes," said Fury. "He was a good man, one of SHIELD's first recruits. Wraith brought him onboard Project: SHIAR in the eighties. This was before we knew a lot about mutants, so Wraith was still tryin' t' play Frankenstein. He tried to leave the project when he figured out what Wraith was doing, so Wraith had his plane sabotaged. Only problem was he survived and was left comatose. He was John Doe under the care of the state until a few years ago when I found out about him and who he was. I kept him away from Weapon X, but it turns out I failed in that. Before he died, Wraith got to Summers. Implanted him with a Brood embryo. A Queen in case his project failed. It was starting to emerge just now, which explains his appearence."

"So now what?" asked Cyclops.

"Now we get rid of it," said Fury. "The Brood are all dead and SHIAR is a closed file. The last embryo was inside him and now he's dead, too."

"A cover up," said Cyclops. "Where does that leave the X-Men? Are you going to shoot me now or just ship me off to some hidden prison?"

"Neither." Fury slid the gun inside the holster beneath his jacket. "You helped us out of a tough spot, Summers. Two of 'em, actually. I know it had to be you guys who took out Magneto for us and now you've taken out the Brood as well. Plus, through the grapevine I understand you stopped some major shit from going down in Europe. That means I'm givin' you a free pass for now."

"Why do I get the feeling there's a catch to this?" asked Cyclops.

"Because there is," said Fury. "Do yourselves a favor—quit while you're ahead. Go back to a normal life."

"None of us have a chance for a normal life after everything that's happened."

"Tough guy bit. Guess you got that from Logan. But when you get down to brass tacks, you're just a bunch of kids who got lucky. I'm givin' you guys a chance to walk away from all this, free and clear. If you wanna stick together, fine, do that. But if you fuck up just once more, I won't be able to protect you. You'll have the full force of the United States on your ass and trust me, Summers—that's _not _somethin' you want."

Fury opened his cell phone and spoke into it. "This is Fury, I need a cleanup crew here, stat. No sign of the X-Men, they must've slipped out before I got here... Good, make it quick. Fury out."

He closed the phone and turned his back to Cyclops. "Now go. Before I change my mind."

* * *

**NEXT: **_Bound By Honor_

* * *


End file.
